Forensic Linguistics in the United Kingdom: Origins, Progress and Prospects

This Element provides an overview of the origins and development of forensic linguistics in the UK. It starts with a brief overview of early forensic linguistic research in the UK context, how some of the earliest work came about and the circumstances that allowed the field to develop and grow. Following this, the Element details the UK-based developments in the forensic analysis of texts, most notably through forensic authorship analysis and profiling. Section 3 outlines the research on spoken linguistic practices in legal contexts, using the order in which one might encounter these parts of the legal system (the emergency services, the police, the courts) as a structure. Section 4 looks at recent developments in the linguistic analysis of criminal and abusive behaviours in online contexts. Finally, the Element summarises the current state of forensic linguistics in the UK, pointing to key debates and potential future directions.